Voices of Detroit #42-Clarkston and Michigan Chamber of Commerce

Voices of Detroit with Larry Henry and David Benjamin journey to northern Oakland County to not only check out the outstanding Clarkston Union and it's long list of beers but to also learn about the Clarkston and Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

Hear what both Chamber organizations are doing to help business grow as we talk with Clarkston Chamber Executive Director Penny Shanks and Bob Thomas the Director of Operations for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.

Direct download: Voices_of_Detroit_42-Clarkston_and_Michigan_Chamber_of_Commerce.mp3

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Penny Shanks    www.clarkston.org       Penny@Clarkston.org

Executive Director Clarkston Area Chamber of Commerce since 1997 

Chamber membership 550 in a suburban community of 32,000 residents

Chamber initiatives include three monthly networking events, weekly eNewsletters, dynamic website and key community events such as the Best of the Best EXPO coming up Nov 12; Concerts in the Park—6 weeks of free concerts in Depot Park June/July and Taste of Clarkston held annually at the end of September.

An early adopter for social media—the Clarkston Chamber was the first Chamber is SE Michigan to tweet—and remains one of the few that has the twitter feed on our website.  Maintaining social media doesn’t have to be a black hole of time wasted.

Bob Thomas    www.michamberconnect.org    BThomas@michamber.com

Bob Thomas is the Director of Operations for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Director of the Michigan Association of Chamber Professionals (MACP). Bob has twelve years in the chamber industry assisting chambers of commerce in the areas of governance, program development, and strategic planning. Bob also manages the Council of State Chambers of Commerce, a national association, and sits on the boards of the Michigan Chamber Foundation, US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management Regents and several committees of the Michigan Society for Association Executives (MSAE).

Bob has a bachelor’s degree from Grand Valley State University and is working to complete his master’s degree in leadership from Central Michigan University.